WHEC - "Denied on all accounts.
That's the best way to describe a court ruling on at least six motions by Rochester City Court Judge Leticia Astacio and her lawyers.
Here is the list of motions made by Judge Astacio and the Court's ruling:
1) Judge Astacio moved to have her drunk driving charges dismissed "in the furtherance of justice." That was denied. Judge Astacio was arrested for DWI in February of 2016. She was convicted of DWI in August of 2016. Judge Astacio maintains she was not driving drunk.
2) Astacio moved to "vacate" her judgment and "set aside" her sentence. That was denied.
3) Astacio argued in a motion that it was "unlawful" when she was found to have violated the terms of her drunk driving sentence. The court denied the motion. (Background: this goes back to May and June when Astacio missed a court-ordered alcohol test because she was in Thailand.) In his written decision, Judge Stephen Aronson wrote, "(Astacio) was aware of the terms and conditions" and she left United States "at her own peril."
4) Astacio argued in a motion that she was illegally sentenced to probation in July. The court denied that motion.
In the motion, Astacio argued the law says she should have been given a written list of the terms of her probation at the time of her sentencing. She did not received and sign the written terms until she was released from jail a week later. Judge Aronson's order recalled the chaos in the courtroom at the time including a member of Judge Astacio's family yelling and swearing at him. Judge Aronson's order also says, "The defendant is a city court judge" and "gave no objections to the terms voiced prior to sentencing."
(Background: the day after Judge Astacio got released from the Monroe County Jail, she was alleged to have consumed alcohol which violated the terms of her probation. Judge Astacio has always maintained that she never drank and the ankle monitor detected the alcohol in the foot cream she used.)
5) Astacio argued she should not have to pay for the SCRAM (alcohol-monitoring) ankle bracelet. The court denied the motion.
Judge Aronson wrote Judge Astacio "has the financial ability to pay expenses related to her criminal behavior... Asking the county to pay for the expense is a slap in the face to taxpayers." In his most animated writing, Judge Aronson wrote "imagine a billionaire DWI defendant insisting that taxpayers pay for the use of a SCRAM device!" Judge Aronson writes that he does not consider Judge Astacio to be a billionaire but he writes "she makes no claim that the cost of the device creates a financial hardship."
6) Astacio argued in a motion that her sentence is "harsh and excessive." The court ruled it is not. Judge Aronson writes that "(Astacio) has never acknowledged responsibility for her behaviors. She has demonstrated an utter lack of respect for any and all authorities." Judge Aronson writes that probation "is totally consistent with a balancing of rehabilitation, deterrence, isolation and retribution, as required by law."
So where does this leave us?
Judge Astacio remains on probation. She has another appeal in front of acting-County Court Judge William Kocher."